Many of the great metropolises of the ancient world covered hundreds of miles, sometimes even more. These mega-cities required an absolutely mind-boggling amount of infrastructure, and of course sewers to manage waste.

Although most of these mega-cities were destroyed during the final wars, they still are home to many different species of mutants, not to mention the brave – or foolhardy souls – who try to mine the ruins for lost treasure and tech.

Well before the final wars, there were rumors of genetically modified creatures set loose into the sewers to clean up garbage, clear away clogs and generally maintain areas which even robots feared to go. Of course this was pure myth, just like the ancient urban legends of alligators in the sewers of New York.

Funny thing is, some of the larger cities, such as Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Moscow and so forth – despite being heavily damaged during the wars – seemed to lend some credence to these rumors.

Those who have made their fortunes hunting these ruins for lost tech have encountered some sort of beast which lives in the dark depths of the ruins, making the tens of thousands of miles of sewers, maintenance tunnels, subways, sub-basements and the like their home.

And they are both terrifying and deadly.

The few specimens which have been brought to the surface for study have the few scientists living in the wastes baffled. First the creatures are clearly the result of genetic tinkering, but have also been subjected to mutagenic compounds, radiation and worse yet – the uplift virus. They are not wholly sure of the species origin, although many do believe they have something in common with mole-rats and of all things, worms.

End result? The average specimen is about five feet in height, and weighs around 160 pounds. They have typically dark grey flesh, but like many creatures, the flesh changes and adapts to the surroundings, making it very difficult to see – giving it a surprise on 1-3 on a d6. It walks on its rear legs like a humanoid, although it can drop to all fours, increasing its speed dramatically. The creature has small suction pads on its four-talon hands, which allow it to cling to any surface. The mouth is a circular wound-like orifice which covers nearly the enter face of the beast, and it is filled with rows of inward-pointing teeth. The beast has six eyes, three on either side of the mouth.

And the beasts stink like a combination of death and raw sewage. This stench is so powerful it can be detected from as far as 100 feet, although considering where these beasts typically dwell, the odor is often lost in the background of the depths. Anyone entering the creature’s area of effect must save versus poison or be sickened. This translates into a -2 to hit, and +2 to AC. Those with increased senses (smell) suffer a -4 to the save and suffer double the penalty. Once a target leaves the area of effect the sickness will fade in 1d4 rounds, or 1d4 turns in the case of those with increased senses (smell).

These creatures are pure terror when they fight. They are able to slash and inflict heavy damage with their claws – often ignoring armor altogether! They possess a psionic ability which is similar to the field generated by warp weapons, and any armor is treated as if 4 points worse due to this. The bite is also quite horrific, as it has three additional properties. First it acts as class 5 poison, and the green slime causes 3d6 points of acid damage for 1d4 rounds after the bite. Finally anyone bitten must make another saving throw versus poison or contract the flesh eating disease (page 48 of core book).

These creatures will always seek out raw waste in order to feed, and they enjoy attacking and infecting other creatures with the bacteria. Often they will allow creatures who have been bitten to escape, only to follow and wait as the disease weakens or kills them. They then take the corpse or still breathing victim back to a cesspool and add it to the reeking, toxic morass to ripen, before they feast upon it.

Often these cesspools are hidden away in the sewers, typically fully enclosed locations with no egress points. They choose these locations on purpose, as it prevents prey they bring back (which is often still alive), from escaping. They are able to accomplish this through teleport, and they have a unique sense which essentially maps out the terrain around them, up to 500 feet.

Out of all the traits the creature possesses, the most terrifying is its capability of thought and reasoning. They are intelligent, and use this intellect to set up ambushes, traps, and gauge would-be sources of food. They are also capable of mapping out entire sections of the underground ruins in a city, although few surface-dwellers have ever figured out a way to trade for these maps or knowledge.

They are not inherently evil, although they do see most other creatures as sources of food, but there have been rumors of these creatures making homes beneath larger wasteland settlements and living contentedly off the offal produced by the inhabitants.

Due to their physical appearance and overwhelming stench however, few creatures ever even bother trying to communicate with them.

The beasts possess no sexes, instead they grow patches of thick flesh on their body in which 3d12 eggs grow over 3 months. After this point they will tear open the flesh and let the eggs hatch into worm-like grubs, which are then released into piles of sewage and offal. The creatures will stay here, and require 12 months to mature and then undergo a metamorphosis which requires another month. When this is complete, they are full adult members.

They do accumulate treasure, but only from the remains of those they have brought back to the cesspools, which is where the valuables can be found.